Lessons we can learn from the differences between the American and Australia occupational therapy communities
Occupational therapy (OT) is a dynamic and multifaceted profession, exhibits remarkable diversity in its practices across various countries and regions worldwide. OTs are dedicated individuals who use a range of assessment and intervention approaches to support participants across their lifespan to build skills, create independence or maintain meaningful activities in their lives.
With each country fostering unique cultural, societal, and healthcare systems, OT professionals encounter distinct challenges and opportunities in delivering people focused healthcare.
When we can understand the differences and nuances in OT across the globe, it’s helpful for fostering collaboration, sharing best practices, and enriching the collective knowledge of the profession.
There’s demand for more OTs across America and Australia, especially since OTs support participants with a wide range of healthcare services including aged care, mental health, working with children, disability, driving, rehabilitation, and many other life areas.
By examining the key differences in occupational therapy practices from different regions, we can better appreciate our different strengths, challenges, and innovations that contribute to the advancement of the OT field.
At Theratrak, we’re on a mission to support OTs and other allied health professionals to streamline their workflows, save time creating home programs, and more efficiently manage home therapy programs.
In April 2023, Theratrak founder Laura Simmons travelled to Kansas City, Missouri in America to attend and present at the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) Conference. Over 7,000 people from within the 200,000 strong AOTA community across America attended the event where Laura ended up winning the Inventor Showcase.
After speaking with many American and Australian OTs, we’ve decided to share some key differences and lessons we can learn from each other.
Below we’ve shared some lessons from experiencing the differences between the OT communities in both America and Australia.
What are differences between the America and Australian OT industries?
Number of Occupational Therapists
Currently, there are far more people working in the OT industry in America, but Australia has more OTs per capita.
In America, with a population of 330 million (in 2021), there are over 160,000 people working in the OT industry (in 2023). This means around 0.0004% of the American population work in the American OT industry.
In Australia, with a population of over 23 million people (in 2021), there are over 26,000 registered OTs across six states and two territories. This means around 0.0011% of the Australian population work in the Australian OT industry.
Certification & Qualifications for OTs
There are major differences between OT qualifications across America and Australia.
In America, OTs are required to have a master's degree or higher in OT and pass the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) exam to become certified as well as ensuring they meet state requirements.
In Australia, OTs typically complete a bachelor's or master's degree and then register with the Occupational Therapy Board of Australia.
Healthcare Systems, Funding & Access to Therapy
There are major differences between the American and Australian healthcare systems.
In the USA, healthcare is largely privatised, and insurance coverage can vary widely depending on the patient's plan. Some OT services are covered by Medicare and often insurance companies set the rates for OT services. Participants in the USA might face higher out of pocket costs for OT services as access to therapy depends on participant’s insurance coverage. Some schools across America with funding provide OT services to their students where the school team refers students to OTs based on their individual needs under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. While this can be a great advantage for the students who access OT services through their schooling, sometimes OTs can have large case loads with 100s of students to support.
Australia has a universal healthcare system that provides access to healthcare services to all citizens and permanent residents. The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) model provides healthcare and OT services for people with disabilities often under the ‘capacity building’ section of funding with the goal of improving independence, skills and community participation. Participants in Australia often have more consistent access to therapy over time, especially if they qualify for NDIS funding.
Theratrak founder Laura Simmons noticed that many OT participants were backsliding in between therapy sessions, and that OTs were often burning out from being overloaded in the workforce. These reasons encouraged Laura to create Theratrak to bridge the gaps in therapy support by empowering participants with at-home programs in between sessions.
The Future of the OT Industry & Leveraging Tech Tools
Each year we discover new ways to support participants and new optimisations we can make to our existing ways of working in the OT world.
Looking back on the evolution of healthcare and the history of the occupational therapy industry, it's clear that we all need to focus on our lessons and how we can continue to improve the delivery of healthcare that creates more empowered and more independent participants.
At Theratrak, we aim to put our participants at the centre of our work while also improving workflows for therapists. We’re excited about the prospect of how technology can support both therapists and participants to get more out of their therapy sessions and programs. With further innovations across technology, data, and tools like Theratrak, we can accurately track the impact of therapy and home programs outside the therapy sessions.
We know technology most likely won’t ever replace therapists, but when we utilise technology, we can support the OT workforce shortage so that dedicated OTs can focus on making more impact by improving access to therapy services and supporting people to reach their independence goals faster.
Through our connections with thousands of therapists, we see the work of many allied health professionals and we can tell that OTs have a really important role to play in supporting participants as we move towards a more social model of healthcare.
With a focus on preventative health and supporting participants to engage with and participate within their communities with their daily occupations, we have no doubt that the OT community has a big positive impact on health outcomes.
Learning from inspiring OTs at the AOTA Conference 2023
Similar to the OTA Conferences in Australia, the AOTA Conferences in America are yearly conferences for OTs to share innovations, spark conversations around how we work, and encourage new ways of delivering therapy.
Since launching in 2018, Laura has pitched the Theratrak story to hundreds (potentially thousands) of people across the healthcare, technology and business industries.
The opportunity to participate in the Inventor Showcase at the AOTA event in Kansas City was a once in a lifetime opportunity for Laura.
Within hours of touching down in Kansas City, Laura met several inspiring OT who quickly became supporters and champions of Laura's pitch during the Showcase.
At the conference, Laura had just five minutes to share the Theratrak story, how she invented the platform, and plans for how Theratrak is impacting the allied health community.
Watch Laura share the Theratrak story at the AOTA Conference winning the Inventor Showcase.
Are you attending future AOTA or OTA Conferences?
The Theratrak team will be attending the OTA Conference 2023 in Cairns in June 2023. Find out more here.
The Theratrak team are also really looking forward to attending the AOTA Conference in 2024 which will be held in Florida. Find out more here.
Want to learn how Theratrak streamlines therapist workflows?
Book a demo to find out how we save therapists time and aim to increase engagement in therapy.
